Trump sends personal thank you note to Swiss police chief

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Trump announces his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

The Local

9 May 2018

12:14 CEST+02:00

The US president sent a personal letter to a police commander in the Swiss canton of Graubünden after the Davos World Economic Forum in January it has emerged.

In his letter, Trump thanked commander Walter Schlegel for his “hard work and assistance” during the huge networking event-cum-party at the popular ski resort.

“I enjoyed my time there, and your efforts were critical to making the trip a tremendous success,” the president said in the brief notice which Graubünden police posted on their Facebook page on Wednesday.

"Something that doesn't happen every year," said the force of the letter in their social media post.

"Whether it's the US president or not, we stand for the safety of everyone in Graubünden and therefore say: 'You're welcome," the post concluded.

Donald Trump’s visit to the WEF – the first by a US president since Bill Clinton showed up in the alpine resort in 2000 – was a fraught affair marked by demonstrations and ideological tensions.

Before the arrival of POTUS, an estimated 1,000 people marched in Zurich chanting "Trump not welcome", with some carrying banners and placards reading "dump the Trump" and "Switzerland is hosting Nazis". Smaller demonstrations were held in other Swiss cities.

But concerns his American First philosophy might clash in dramatic ways with the cooperative ethos at the WEF proved largely unfounded as the president used his speech to link the fates of the US and the world and suggest the rest of the world "become part of this incredible future we are building together".